A Wallflower's Curse
by ChemicalCountess
Summary: "You would die for her." She restated. "But you're not willing to do anything to get her. What's wrong with you?"
1. Knowing Reupload: Edited&Extended

**After reading a few ShinoHina fanfics I really got into the couple. So I wrote my own. ;D**

**NOTE:  
(1) I do not own Naruto, its characters or any of the quotes I cite.  
(2) This chapter was reuploaded and extended upon request.  
(3) A few lines were inspired by Stephenie Meyer's _New Moon_ and the idea was inspired by Stephen Chbosky's _The Perks of Being a Wallflower._  
(4) This was originally named "Ever the Same" because it was inspired by the song by Rob Thomas. It's still inspired by that song, but I felt this title was more fitting.**

**Hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 1: Knowing**

"_Now when I caught myself,  
I had to stop myself,  
From saying something that,  
I should have never thought._

_You got it, you got it, some kind of magic  
Hypnotic, hypnotic, you're leaving me breathless."_

-Paramore

* * *

Usually, when people regret, they regret not knowing things sooner. When Shino regrets, he regrets knowing all together.

_Because it is knowledge that usually lands him in a place he neither intended nor wanted to be._

His observational and analytical skills are second only to Nara Shikamaru, but were nonetheless impressive.

For one, he was one of the few who felt the impending doom about to engulf the Leaf Village during the Chunin Exams. He knew there was a plan about to commence from eavesdropping on the sand siblings. He knew how to find them by planting a female beetle on Uchiha Sasuke after listening to Kakashi-sensei's directions towards three other genin in his class. And he knew how to defeat his opponent Kankuro within a few minutes into the battle. After watching the puppet's movements he quickly noticed the poison hidden in their compartments and saw the vulnerability of the charka strings at his fingertips – as well as his opponent's slight fear of insects. He won that battle both effectively and efficiently.

He also knew to learn from the mistake of being pricked by a poison dipped needle and knew to be grateful that his father found him in time to save his life.

He always observed and analyzed, listened and assembled, noticed, waited and gathered. He knew many things. He even knew things about others that they didn't know themselves.

Most of the time he knew it was a gift, but he was no fool. He knew that every gift can, very easily, become a curse, and his gift was no exception. But knowing to appreciate what he had, he never complained about it.

Sometimes, _he just knew too much_ and other times, _he grew tired of it_.

Knowing: _it's a perk of being a wallflower._

But on the days that he noticed something about her that was just too much, it was a perk he wished he didn't have.

The day before, he noticed a different shade of pink that flushed her cheeks when Uzumaki Naruto complimented her on her skill improvement. Yesterday, he noticed how hard she trained by her bruised and reddened knuckles.

"Shino-kun?" She disrupted his thoughts. He looked down at the box of rice balls in her hands. An offering.

He looked up, taking a small white grainy sphere in his hand and thanked her with a nod.

Today, he noticed how cute she was with her new hair cut and that she was wearing peach flavored lip gloss (his Kikaichu told him that, but he could tell himself that she used floral scented shampoo).

"I really like the new do, Hinata. It's working for ya." Kiba complimented, grinning.

"T-Thank you."

She looked away blushing as she always did from Kiba's never-ending mental list of ways to make her change colors. That was consistency he always noticed about his teammates.

It was Hinata's consistency that drove the unrest in Shino's mind. Everything about her was consistent: her kind and gentle nature, her sheer determination and humble disposition, and her sincerity and warmth. Of course he couldn't _not_ notice her shy beauty - and how good she smelled - but to him, appearance is only the icing on the cake. She was true to herself and in turn, to others - making her all the more beautiful - and that was a quality Shino knew to appreciate. Kiba's was too, but he couldn't focus much on him when she was around.

The sound of the Hyuuga's soft voice broke his train of thought.

"He actually returned today." He smoothly jumped into the conversation by correcting Kiba on when Naruto completed his mission.

"Oh, really? Wow, I thought it'd take him at least another day to find that rich landlord's stolen treasure chest with his navigational skills."

She let out a small giggle, leaving the bug-user to shift his attention to her. He loved hearing her laugh. It almost made up for all the times she had finished crying before joining them for training or a mission. All from either her relationship with her father or from Neji's remarks. Shino always knew from the slight hue of pink that surrounded her eyes and the saturation of moisture on the skin under them. Those were times he considered his gift a curse; seeing her in any level below content.

He was so grateful when she moved into her own apartment and - more importantly - away from her blood-line family. After that, everyone saw the smile-born dimples on her cheeks more than tears.

That made him happy. Because she was happy.

"So when are you going to ask him out?" Shino stiffened at Kiba's question directed towards Hinata.

"I don't know..." She took a delicate bite out of her plum rice ball.

"Come on! You've liked the guy for like three years! When are you gonna do something about it?"

One thing always remained the same: Hinata liked Naruto. And that bothered the hell out of the Aburame. It was one consistency he wished would change. Shino's feelings for Hinata grew after he learned of her crush on the knuckle-headed ninja, and if he hadn't had noticed, then he would have already made an attempt to be her only one. She was already his.

But he thought that Hinata deserved the best of what she wanted and not settle for the best friend that's always been there.

He was thoughtful and considerate, and for that he cursed himself.

She stalled for time by taking a rather large bite of her rice ball. A _lady_ never talks with her mouth full. She chews slowly with manners, too.

"I will. Later."

"When?"

"I don't know. Eventually." She was uncertain if not interested in such an act.

"I'll help you if you need me to."

She was skeptical. "What would you do?"

"I'll figure something out, don't worry."

Shino's insects were restless, sensing a wave of frustration crawl over him and the slight ache he felt in his chest. But it faded a bit after several beats, so it didn't bother him as much, allowing the colony within him to settle down.

"Well I gotta go." Kiba excused himself. "Gotta go help my sister with whatever she nagged me to help her with last night. I don't even remember what she said, but yet again I can't make out her words when she's yelling. Let alone nagging plus yelling."

"Ok, see you later, Kiba-kun."

"Kiba."

"See ya guys."

He pushed his dark sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose knowing that he might accidently let a confession escape if he didn't compose himself right away. He wanted her to be happy with the one she wanted because he knew that was what would make her happiest. Even though he knew it was the same as painfully admitting to himself that he probably couldn't make her as happy as he wished he could.

"You know," he began, asking for her attention.

"Hm?"

He suddenly froze mid-sentence. The feeling of sincere interest and attention emitting from her eyes enthralled him. Breaking eye contact was something impossible to do even if he wanted to - and he didn't want to. When he remembered to breath, he coughed trying not to suffocate.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong." He fixed the collar of his jacket to hide any possible color forming on his face. "Nevermind." Hopefully she didn't notice his sudden lapse. Afterall, he didn't stutter or need to clear his throat or anything that might show nervousness.

"A-Alright." Her cheeks raised from a growing smile. She always understood that his lack of words was nothing to worry about. But it didn't stop her curiosity from wondering, _"what was he going to say?"_

He stopped himself from saying what he wished he'd never thought,_ even if it meant suffering from an information overload._

The two remaining members of Team Kurenai sat on the blanket, enjoying each other's company as they shared idle conversation with periodic, moments of calming silence. Upon finishing the box of rice balls, the carton of mixed fruit, and the canteen of iced tea, they packed up the picnic and bid each other farewell until training the next morning. He watched her leave a little more content than when she arrived. It was all in her facial expression.

_Her happiness made the whole suffering thing a little more bearable._

He stood in the clearing, sifting through the multiple bits of information and details in his head. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to think straight.

A cluttered mind: _the down side of knowing._

A rustle in the foliage snapped him into a defensive stance. He remained calm, though, as he always did.

"Relax." Called a female's voice.

He recognized the source of the voice before she even stepped out of the shadows. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just around. Training. And then saw you guys eating." She un-strapped the giant fan on her back and set it onto the ground, leaning it against a generous tree.

The gesture allowed his defense to soften half way.

She smirked at his distrust. "I don't expect you to trust me, but still, you should relax. I'm no threat to you."

_You only watched us from the trees as we ate. That's not suspicious at all. _He thought to himself sardonically. "So you say."

"I wouldn't harm Shikamaru's friends for no good reason." She shifted her weight to her right leg.

A small breeze made its presence clear as it ruffled both of their hair: his wild brown hair and her four wild tan pigtails.

The air stood still as the two shinobi observed each other in indifferent curiosity; him wondering why she was spying and her wondering about his intentions.

"You're not much of a talker are you?"

He shrugged.

"Guess not." Her eyes rolled to the serene emptiness of the sky. "What I don't get is why you didn't tell that Hyuuga girl how you feel."

A bit taken back, he could only utter, "Pardon?"

"You heard me. I know you like her. It's not obvious, though. You hide it well, but I can tell when a guy has a girl on his mind. I do have two brothers. Well…at least one of them counts." She made a face, thinking of Gaara's love life, or rather lack thereof.

His brown eyebrow twitched.

"So tell me, why don't you tell her?" She made herself comfortable on a tree branch and padded the space next to her asking him to take a seat.

He shook his head declining.

She shrugged and continued, "Please tell me. I'm very curious."

"Why?"

"Because. You don't seem like the type of guy to be afraid of rejection. Nor do you seem like the type of guy to care what others think. And you're a guy. A guy will pursue a girl if he feels strongly enough, and I think you do, but you hold yourself back. Why?" she paused, aware of the slight streak of pink just barely escaping from under his collar. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

The shady ninja didn't have much choice but to believe her because she already knew. He waited until he felt the color drain from his face before he continued.

"She has someone already."

"That demon carrier?"

Not wanting to say confirm or deny, he made mo movements to be taken as an answer.

"Whatever, that doesn't stop most guys. Why does it stop you?"

His eyes went down, then up and around, avoiding contact with hers in hopes that remaining silent long enough will bore her into losing interest.

"I have all day, buddy."

_Fuck. _"It's none of your business."

"I know. Can't blame me for trying, though." A stolen smile from a very familiar lazy genius found her face. "Is it because you feel like you don't deserve her or that you can't compete with Uzumaki?"

A sudden paralysis hung over him as she hit the nail on the head.

"Well in either case, I don't think you should let it hold you back. Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too. Just like that Hyuuga girl."

He couldn't deny the truth in that because he knew it was so.

"Well I can see I won't get much out of you." She leaped off the branch using only her upper body strength. "I might see you later." She twirled into the forest like a gust of wind, leaving behind a small indent in the dirt from where her fan rested.

_Leaving traces of your presence behind. _The bug ninja commented. _Not very smart of any shinobi to do._

The other trace she left was an echo in his head. And it sang: _"Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too."_

_But that would be selfish._ He tried to combat her logic with his. _And she deserves someone who isn't so selfish._

* * *

**Trying to get inside Shino's head is kinda hard with how quiet he is though...but I welcome the challenge.  
Hope you liked this first chapter at least. :)  
I'm pretty satisfied with how this is going so far I guess.  
Chapter 2 coming soon.**

**Review if worthy! :)**


	2. Caught

**Hey! Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate your input! :)  
Hope you enjoy this chapter.  
Made me kind of sad typing it, though. XD  
Tried to be funny, too. You can be the judge of that.**

* * *

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 2: Caught**

"_You may need me there  
To carry all your weight  
But you're no burden I assure__  
You tide me over  
With a warmth I'll not forget  
But I can only give you love."  
_-Rob Thomas

* * *

The orange yellow glow of the sky was fading into a black silk and dinner will be starting soon. Little of his attention was spared on anything or anyone on his way to the Aburame compound.

That is until a certain head of hair and a certain shade of milky eyes caught his eyes behind the dark rims of his glasses.

"Oh, h-hello again, Shino-kun." She said with a smile spread across her face.

"Hinata." No emotion in his voice.

"I was on my way home but then remembered that the little girl who lives next door to me has a birthday coming up," She took out a fluffy white stuffed bunny with buttons for eyes and pink sewn on whiskers, "So I picked up something for her."

_Always so thoughtful._ He wished he didn't think that because compliments only added more information to his hard drive of a brain, giving him more to sort through.

"I have a feeling she will like it." He nodded in approval.

Her smile gleamed: accomplishment of the day celebrated.

"It's getting late." He pointed out.

The sun wasn't in the horizon anymore. The moon was in its place.

"Oh, y-yeah. I should head home." She reframed from using 'we' because she never questioned what he did with his life. She trusted how responsible he was from _knowing_ him all this time. She always accepted what he did just as he did with her.

"I'll walk you."

A warm smile and a small tilt of her head were given as comply.

She led the way as he walked - not in front of or behind her, but beside her - with his hands resting in his pockets. He believed in her abilities as a kunoichi, but still wanted ensure her safe trip home. He couldn't argue with spending more time with her, either. _It was something he never grew tired of._

Shinobi never let their full guard down, and the brunette didn't let the fact that it was a simple walk home change that. He kept all senses open and his kikaichu alert for any potential threats as they traveled. He made note of every alley, every stray figure, and every deep shadow on the way. Even as they ascended the stairs to the second level of the apartment complex he would not let himself fully relax.

"Thank you for walking me home, Shino-kun." She bowed as they arrived at her door.

His head dipped in a nod.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?"

"No, thank you. I must decline."

"Oh, alright."

It was another opportunity he forced himself to give up for her sake.

But there was no hint of suspicion or disappointment in her voice, so he felt no need to worry. It reflected her mood, which raised a small smile hiding behind his collar.

"Shino-kun?" She usually knew when he was paying her attention or not, but waited a few seconds to make sure. "What do you think Kiba will do?" She referred to the Inuzuka's promise of getting her and a certain blond together.

It took a while to compose a sentence that went against his hopes. "I wouldn't worry. I can almost trust that he knows what he's doing. Even if half the time I have to try really hard to."

"Hm hm hm." Her girly giggle made his stomach flutter. He made her laugh! (Yay!)

"And in the event that accordance does not meet expectation, know that I will be there" – _even long after you find another_ – "as well as Kiba."

The corners of her smile fell as a thought made itself apparent in her head. "You two do so much for me..."

"We do not mind."

"No, really. Sometimes I wonder what I would do without you two..." They _both_ shuddered at the thought. "I feel like such a burden sometimes..."

A lengthy wind of silence cut the air.

The full moon found its way from behind the clouds and captivated Hinata with its glow. Shino turned his head slightly and saw what she was looking at from his peripheral. He then turned back, apparently not interested in any sight besides the one before him.

She returned her gaze to the tall man before her, and saw his response: a raised eyebrow.

Remembering that this teammate of hers never liked to repeat himself gave her comfort. He hadn't left. He stayed. Standing there with her as she was trying to pull herself out the pool of her own self-made doubt.

It's not like he denied or comfirmed anything either, but he was a man of few words. _And a patient one at that_. He always gave her time to think.

The corners picked themselves up. "You're right..." It was as if she read his mind, "I am being silly."

She smiled, shifting her body weight forward. "T-Thank you. Shino-kun"

She was hugging him and he didn't move a muscle.

He was too busy processing the feel of it: her phasing warmth, her soft hair tickling his nose (of course the wind came at just the right time to give a few strands of her hair the height needed to reach above his collar), her undoing scent, the size of the tiny arms encircling him, and the feel of the strong yet gentle pressure they brought in the embrace - _the nearly melting embrace_.

_Wait! _He panicked. _Do something, dammit!_

Not knowing exactly what to do, he placed an open hand on her back, showing that he accepted her small act of innocent affection.

He stopped himself from placing his cheek on her head, but by that time, she had already unwound her arms and stepped back, much to his dismay.

"I'll see you at training tomorrow." She said as she stepped inside. She waited for his response – a slow nod and a quiet "Goodnight" – before closing the door.

Waiting until illumination penetrated through the crack between the bottom of the door and the ground and the lock on the front door heaving a quick _**click**_, he began to walk home, a good twenty minutes away.

"_Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too." _The words plagued his mind. They just refused to die.

_But that would be selfish._ He reminded himself. _And she deserves someone who isn't so selfish._

He let out a deep sigh and straightened his back.

"Caught you blushing." He looked up to see a smirked spread across the face of a slim figure leaning against a stray tree, arms crossed.

"Are you following me?" Sounding a bit offended.

"Well…yes. I'm not sure why, but I find this whole situation very interesting."

"I'm not here for your entertainment, fan girl."

"Temari. Sorry, but I can't help myself. Shikamaru got called on for a mission and I'm stuck here with nothing to do until he gets back."

"You could go back to Suna until he gets back, you know." Voice: monotone.

"As Shikamaru would say," she imitated the hoarseness of his lazy voice, "'that would be a pain'. He'll only be gone until the day after tomorrow."

"It's actually 'what a pain'."

She rolled her eyes at the smart-ass. "Anyways, why did you pass up that perfect opportunity to tell her how you feel?"

He wouldn't comply sharing anything more than political opinions.

"Alright. How about this: I would like to help you realize that you are entitled to happiness, or that you deserve her, whatever works for you. But in order to do that, I need you know what you're thinking and how you feel."

Shino sharing his _feelings_!? Unheard of! As far as he was concerned, he didn't have feelings! Shinobi are not to show emotion. In some cases, it would be easier for a shinobi to not have emotions at all.

"Do not concern yourself, sand ninja."

A few beetle-like insects were crawling all over his body, reacting to his irritation.

She held out her hands in defense mockingly. "Alright, alright." She let out a yawn - it was a long day of eavesdropping. "I'm just saying."

"What you **are** saying?"

"I'm just sayin-_**g**,_ wallflowers deserve happiness, too."

"Why do you keep calling me a wallflower?"

"Because you are one."

He lowered both eyebrows: a sign he was interested and listening.

"You watch everything around you. You're very aware of your surroundings, including - no, **especially** people. You observe, listen, and take notice. Then you think, analyze, and process." She paused only to verify no protest to her assumptions. "But you think too much. Which is why you don't act on impulse."

She gave him a look as if asking _'why didn't you hug her back?'_

"Wallflowers are the ones who sit back and watch. They act on occassion, though."

"Is that all?" He was itching to get away. It was blatant in his voice.

"Why do you feel like you don't deserve her so much?"

"It is merely that he can provide for her what I cannot." The warrior from Suna had finally gotten under Aburame Shino's skin. She finally got something out of him.

"Like what?"

"..."

"Do you really underestimate yourself that much?"

"No. I believe I am accurate."

"What can he give her that you can't?"

She was curious to figure out such a hard puzzle, but it was a puzzle that didn't want to be solved.

"Do you love her?"

"That's not always enough." Neither confirm, nor deny.

"So you **do **love her?"

He pushed his sunglasses higher on his face.

"Well you should tell her. Or at least talk about it."

He was not in the mood to be told what to do. He respected her in the sense that she was able to figure so much of him out in such a short amount of time, but she interrupted his content mood. The conversation distracted him from properly processing the hug into memory.

"Alright then." She uttered as he passed her. "Well if you change your mind, I'll be around." He felt through the ground that her feet no longer touched it.

That left an earie tingle in the sir, disappearing like that. But after so many years of it, he got used to the feeling.

_It's not always enough. _He kept reminding himself. _She needs more than that. _

He rather disliked if not totaly loathed information overloads like this. The day already dragged on long enough, but it wasn't over quite yet.

* * *

The Aburame clan leader lifted his head from his field journal and greeted his only child with a, "Where have you been, brat? The food is already getting cold."

"Can you really call it food?"

"It's edible isn't it?"

"I'm afraid to find out."

"A growing boy needs nutrition."

"Yes. Nutrition. Not potential poison."

"It's safe. I already ate my half."

"But you've had a lot more time than me to build up immunity to it, old man."

"Just shut up and eat." The man in the narrow shades pointed to the covered ceramic bowl in front of him.

He took a seat facing his father.

Lifting the lid was something the younger Aburame wished he didn't do, for it let loose a strange aroma that hit his nose like a bolt of lightning. His facial expression reflected how it smelled: it was one of disdain.

"What is it?"

"Meatloaf."

The boy poked the illegid 'meatloaf' with a spoon. "...what kind of meat?"

"...I'm not exactly sure."

"Which meal did you use the leftover's from."

"Tuesday night's dinner."

"...Dad, that was four days ago."

"It hasn't spoiled yet, so it's very much edible. Enjoyable, though...well that's debatable."

The son heaved a heavy sigh at his father. "I guess I'll take my chances." He took a spoonful and held it up to his mouth. He paused to think about it before he risked trying another one of his father's creations.

Shibi followed the food moving down his son's throat to make sure he actually swallowed it. "See, it's not that bad."

He coughed.

"Oh stop pretending to choke."

"How do you know if I'm pretending or not? I could really be dying."

He heaved a heavy sigh identical to his son's (Obvious where Shino got it from).

"Oh, by the way," The older Aburame fixed the dark glasses on his face, "your aunt Anci, uncle Aoki, and cousin Aito are coming to visit for a little bit."

The spoon dropped from his hand. "**What?**"

"They'll be here tomorrow. It's only for a few days."

He twitched. "How long, exactly?"

"I'm not sure. I'm assuming no more than a week, though."

_A WEEK!? _He couldn't believe his luck. _A WHOLE FREAKING WEEK!?_

"I know, I know. You and your cousin don't exactly see eye-to-eye."

"Well, I am taller than him."

"You know what I mean. Just try to be civil, ok?"

He let out another sigh.

"Thank you. Now finish your dinner before it gets any colder."

The sixteen year old looked down at the bowl, wondering if letting it get cold would help make it taste any better.

"Oh, and Aito will be staying in your room." He buried his face in his field journal just after dropping that little piece of horrifying news on his son's already sore head.

"..." His twitch did all the talking.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but the new couch isn't a pull out and your aunt and uncle are taking the guest room. Besides, I already dragged the futon from the basement."

"...No more than a week, right?"

"Yes." Shibi found it safe to put his journal down to face his son. "No more than a week."

And the sighs just kept on rolling.

* * *

**I was aiming for sweet and funny. Hopefully that's worked out? If not then I hope cute and funny? XD  
Eh, I'm not that good with humor. :(  
Next Chapter coming up. I'm having a bit of fun with this couple and elaborating on Shino's relationship with his dad.  
Planning on really adding the OC cousin...someone I made up on my own to make things a little more interesting.  
It will be one of the few things I own in this fanfic. Tehe.  
Hopefully, it _will_ be interesting. o.O**

**Review if worthy! :)**


	3. It's Finally Done: Edited&Extended

**Thank you for your kind words and reviews and favoriting and subscribing, I really do appreciate them!**

**They motivate me to write more. :)  
Sorry for the really really long wait, but I prefer quality over quantity.**

**I just recently moved into college. So yeah, lots of work for me! Yay.  
But in all seriousness I love college life :D  
Even with the massive amounts of work. Homework. Labs. Papers. All of it.**

**FINALLY FINISHED MY FIRST EVER SEMESTER OF COLLEGE! :D**

**And now onto the Spring semester…**

**This chapter was edited/extended/re-uploaded. ENJOY! ^_^**

* * *

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 3: It's Finally Done**

"_Just don't deny it,  
Don't try to fight this, and deal with it  
and that's just part of it"_

-Apocalyptica

* * *

Aburame Shino woke up, quite literally, on the wrong side of the bed. In fact, he was off it. On the floor.

_That's odd. _He thought to himself. _I haven't fallen off my bed while I was sleeping in about…well, a long time. _Of course his memory decides to "fail" him now.

He moved his arm a little and noticed something poking him. He looked around to found his sunglasses, crushed.

"Ugh."

He rubbed his face, plowing over his features with his hands, trying to wake himself up more fully from an uncomfortable night's sleep. (Only uncomfortable because he woke up.)

Lazily, he picked himself up from the hardwood floor, dragged his feet to his dresser, picked out a new, yet identical pair of sunglasses, and placed them on his face, all nonchalantly of course.

He stretched on his way to the bathroom and let out a yawn. Around this time, he would've been returning home from bug-hunting, but today was a day he wanted to make sure he was well rested.

Because today was the day his favorite person in the whole wild world was coming to visit for a week. The joy was practically leaping off his face. (Not really.)

He looked at himself in the mirror and went through his usual morning routine: brush teeth, shave, wash face, and leave hair alone.

Check, check, check, and check.

Usually, shower would be added to the mix, but again, that would be when he returned from gathering more species to study.

He got dressed in time to hear a knock on the door. Dreading the possible person, or persons standing on the other side of the door, he was seriously considering not answering and leaving the house, through a window if necessary.

But then he recognized the knock. He would recognize that knock anywhere.

It was loud and obnoxious, just like the mouth of his fanged canine-like teammate.

He sighed in relief and pursued to open the door.

"I got news!" Kiba grinned and nearly knocked down the front door the Aburame residents just as Shino unlatched the lock. "I did it! It's finally done!"

"What is done?" Signature monotone voice.

"I finally set up Hinata and that numbskull!"

"…" _**What**__!?__** Already**__!? _He was thankful for his sunglasses because his eyes were wide from surprise.

"I told Uzumaki that there's a friend I wanted to set him up with, and it worked!"

"…" _That actually worked?_

"They're going on a date tonight and **of course** I'll be following, ya know, just in case he tries anything." He smirked and then looked back to his sleepy friend. "You up for it?"

The insect wielder tried not to let a reaction slip, but his eyebrows raised out of habit. He tried to pass it off for curiosity.

"Don't try to deny it, it's written all over your face!"

Shino was annoyed, but didn't confirm or deny anything.

"Ok, bug freak, I'll meet you back here at your place tonight at six!" He called before running out towards the center of the village in a hurry.

Head a bit spinning, the Aburame trudged back into his room and dropped himself on his bed.

_Naruto is going on a date with…Hinata…_he couldn't help but want to slap himself to make sure he was awake.

_Hinata is going on a date…with Naruto…_Asleep or awake, it was a bit of a nightmare either way.

"_Wallflowers deserve to be happy too."_

_SHUT UP!_

He tried desperately to rid himself of the thought. Not because he didn't think it was true – he knew it was true – but more so he didn't want to realize yet that his chances might be up.

Hinata was going on a date with Naruto. He had plenty of chances to make a move, but didn't. Especially the times they trained together, _alone_.

Hinata was going on a date with Naruto. Kiba set it up because he wanted her to be happy. _They __**both**__ wanted her to be happy._

Hinata was going on a date with Naruto. She loves him. _She always has._

Then the question of "_does Naruto love her back?" _popped into his head.

He tried holding onto the hope of a possible _"No." _but he knew better.

_Again, he cursed knowing._

Naruto not returning Hinata's feelings may only devastate her.

And besides. _She deserves someone who isn't so selfish._ He forced himself to remember.

He continued to lay on his bed and stream thoughts through his head until his father called him.

Aburame Shibi was the source of which Shino inherited these perks of being a wallflower. Thus, he knew from the moment he entered the living room that his son was not fully himself.

All observation of course: looking downward in thought instead of being alert, allowing his glasses to slip off his face enough to see the edges of his eyes, eyebrows nit together. They were not unusual characteristics for Shino, but very unusual if all at the same time.

Shino didn't wake up early to collect new specimens, but Shibi knew his son wanted rest to be able to deal with his cousin.

But it was clear to him that the clan heir had something else he had to deal with. But whether it was in or out of his head was something he figured not to ask. At least not yet.

Shino was always the confident type; only asking for help if necessary. Similar to how he spoke: when necessary.

He dealt with his problems like all Aburame men: in silence and, in most times, in solitude.

He took a seat next to his father on the couch.

"Good, you're sitting." That can only mean one thing. One dreaded thing: "They're here."

"…" He looked around, but saw no one. "Unloading?"

"Yes, they decided to take the larger carriage this time."

That can only mean one thing: they needed more space for luggage. "…**Why?**" _Please…no…_

Shibi looked away, out the window. The Aburame heir's irritation was evident in the restlessness in his Kikaichu.

"**Please **don't tell me…"

"Sorry, but they're going to need to stay more than a week."

_I knew it…and I wish I didn't…_ "…How long, exactly?"

"A month."

"…"

There was a knock on the door that saved Shibi from some intense glaring from his son.

"Hello." He greeted his sister, her husband, and her son. He tried not to sound monotone, but he wasn't sure how to, so it didn't work out.

"Shibi!" Anci jumped on her brother to hug him, followed by a hand shake from Aoki, and another hand shake from Aito.

"Shino, say hello to your aunt, uncle, and cousin." He practically elbowed him in the stomach trying to 'nudge' him.

He composed himself in time to answer with a generic "Hello. How nice to see you again. It's been a long time."

"Too long!" Her aunt cheered and hugged her nephew. "It's been a whole year!"

"Shino. Show your cousin to your room, where he will be staying." That last part left a small painful echo in his ears.

Without even looking at Aito's face, he had spun on his heels and headed towards his bedroom, forcing his cousin to follow in step, hesitantly.

They both remained silent, glasses high at the bridges of their noses.

"_Here."_ Is what Shino said by the gesture of pointing at the futon parallel to the bed.

Without a word Aito placed his bags at the end of the bed. He then proceeded to take out a bottle of some sort of cleaning solution and rag and scrub the thin mattress. _"Hope it's not too dirty."_ He said by the gesture.

Shino left, giving the response: _"Fuck you."_

"Where are you going?" Shibi asked as he caught his son try to walk out in a bit of a hurry.

Shino turned to him and thought for a moment trying to find the right way to phrase what he **wanted** to say, but thought better of it and decided to lie. "I'm training with my team today. I will be home late after sunset."

"Alright." He nodded, giving permission for his son to continue out the door.

"Really, Shibi." He heard his aunt try to lecture his father. "Allowing your son so much freedom. It's not good for a boy his age."

Of course, his father remained silent. He knew she didn't understand and didn't bother to try to explain it. Neither she, nor her husband, nor her son were shinobi, so she wouldn't truly know the responsibilities of a ninja. She was an odd Aburame in more ways than one. She was not included in the tradition of the Bug-users for some reason and did not allow her son to participate either. They were Kikaichu-free Aburame to say the least.

This being the reason they never really understood the ways of living with the Kikaichu.

This being the reason Aito never understood Shino.

This being the reason Aito resented Shino so much as family; being a part of the family all together.

And Shino resented being related to Aito because he is a proud member of the Aburame clan. And not only that, but the heir.

It was all one vicious circle.

But they dealt with it. In their own ways.

Walking around the village seemed so much more appealing than being near his cousin at the moment. He much preferred thinking of what to expect when spying on a certain Hyuuga and a certain Uzumaki during their date later in the evening.

He didn't expect to run into Hinata as he was walking, though. Well, it was more that Hinata bumped into Shino, which is not surprising considering the size difference.

His breath stopped at the warmth of the tiny form on his chest.

"Sorry!" She looked up and relaxed when she realized it was him. "Oh! Shino! Good morning!"

"Good morning." He returned as she pulled away (much to his dismay).

"What are you doing in town?"

"Avoiding my cousin." He uttered in slight disgust.

"Oh…Aito's visiting?"

"Unfortunately."

Shino and Hinata had already talked about Aito during one of their duo training sessions when the subject of people not understanding the strange ways of the Aburame clan was brought up. Of course, Shino didn't say too much on the subject – not that he says much on a regular basis – but Hinata didn't need to hear too much to understand.

"Oh…well I'm sure things will be okay. Just spend a little less time in the house. That's all." She gave a cute smile that lightened his mood. Spending less time in his house was the first thing on his mind anyways. It was like she read his mind.

A few moments of silence passed. Silence between them was never really awkward. They just knew how to appreciate each other's company.

"You have something on your mind." He looked towards the sky, avoiding eye contact for the conversation he knew would follow.

"Oh…" It didn't surprise her he knew that she had something on her mind. He usually did. "…I was just thinking…" She bit her bottom lip. "about tonight…"

"Your date with Naruto?"

"..oh…I guess Kiba already told you…"

"You are nervous?" More of an observation than a question.

"Well…yeah…" He could see the doubt in her eyes. Hinata was afraid of rejection more than anything.

"You doubt yourself. Again."

She looked up at him. And then looked down in disappointment in herself. "I know I shouldn't…"

"You are only human." He pointed out blatantly as-a-matter-of-factly "Humans are destined to make mistakes. It is a matter of what you do with them."

Her frown turned upside down. She was always able to take comfort in his quirky words of wisdom.

"It's just…sometimes…I wonder if I'm making the right decisions…"

Was she having second thoughts?

A sudden change of heart?

Is there a chance that she's gotten over Naruto in the time she's spent silently pining for him?

Has she noticed his lack of observational skills?

"But I think I'm making a good decision now."

He could only hope.

_And sometimes he wished hoping was enough. _

_But he knew better._

"What are you doing in town?" He was curious.

"Oh…I was waiting for Sakura. We were supposed to eat lunch together, but she got called into the hospital last minute."

He looked at her, and then shifted his eyes to the adorable little restaurant across from them. Then, looked back to her.

He jerked his head once to the direction of the restaurant and she smiled to accept his invitation and followed his lead.

"I've actually never eaten here before."Hinata stated as she ducked under the tarp Shino held up for her. The restaurant was busy, but not too crowded.

"It just opened a few weeks ag – "

"Hello! Table for two?" A peppy waitress popped out of nowhere.

"Um, y-yes, please."

"Alright, right this way." She led the two to a secluded table in the corner with a single red rose and a single pink rose in a vase on the table. "Here are your menus, I'll be back in a moment to take your order." She smirked at the two.

Hinata watched as Shino poured the tan liquid into her teacup, then his. "Thank you."

He watched as she looked the menu over. More observing: she was wearing a different type of lip gloss. Either that or it was chap stick. It was a different shade than her usual coat.

Whatever she was wearing, Shino kept staring at her lips.

His eyes then shifted upward.

Her eyes were free of make up as they always were. He was careful not to look into them, though. Looking into her eyes would only enthrall him. He wanted to avoid that as much as possible. (Though a part of him wanted to be even more enthralled by her than he already was.)

"Have you eaten here before?" Hinata asked.

"No."

"What do you want to eat?"

"I have no preference other than that it – "

"Doesn't have a strong smell." She smiled cutely as she kept her eyes on the menu.

"Am I that predictable?"

"Well, if you say it every time we all go out to eat, you'll eventually notice the pattern."

"So I am that predictable?"

"It's not a bad thing."

He thought for a moment. "Wouldn't it be boring?"

Now she thought for a moment. "Only if you want to think of it that way."

"And it's not like you're always predictable." She added as her delicate lips curved.

He had to catch his breath at _that_ smile.

_I'm not always predictable._ Hinata got him thinking. _And even if I'm predictable, it's not always a bad thing._ And he couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Point."

"Thank-you. What's the score now?"

"Ten to fifteen."

"I'll catch up, don't worry."

"Perhaps."

She giggled at his cockiness. "Just you wait."

"For how long?"

"As long as it takes."

"…Point."

"See, I'm catching up already."

"We'll see."

"Yes. We will."

They both smiled at their own little game of who can prove more points.

Shino would always take the lead, but Hinata was always right there behind him.

(Not that he let himself get too far from her.)

During their game, Shino almost missed that Hinata had ordered for him. And he could smell his bowl of soup before it was placed in front of him.

"You know I dislike foods with strong smells."

"Yes, but you also said you did not have a preference and last week you said you wanted to try new things, even if it smelled strong, remember?"

"...Point."

"I believe we're tied."

"We are. And I believe you're trying to kill me with this food."

"Really? Becaue I believe you enjoy dying with the way you're eating it."

"The things you do to me." _You have no idea._

"I try."

"You suceed."

"Win!"

"Not yet, we're still tied."

"You know what I mean."

"Indeed." _He always knows._

_He knew a lot of things._

Their lunch date was forced to an end because a certain someone had to get ready for their date later in the evening, much to another certain someone else's displeasure. They parted temporarily for they would meet the next day for training.

With dusk just a few hours away Shino decided to preoccupy his time at Kiba's house to meet him sooner rather than later.

"Hmph." He heard a voice from a familiar tree.

"You again?" He felt her presence before she even made that sound.

"Yup. I'm not that easy to get rid of."

"I'm not afraid of a challenge."

"Look, I'm just trying to help."

"...With?"

"Like I said before: 'Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too.'" She quoted herself.

He sighed in slight frustration.

"You're a smart guy. I'm sure by now that you've noticed that she doesn't even stutter once around you. Nor is she as quiet as when she's around other people."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that you are someone special to her, believe it or not, but you probably don't. Because you keep thinking that you don't deserve her."

"She has another."

"You didn't deny my point."

"..."

There was light tension in the air.

Tamari let out a sigh. "In my opinion, regarding relationships, it's better if the guy loves the girl more than the girl loves the guy. That way, the girl is loved, and the guy is closer to feeling like he deserves her. Just saying."

"Are you done, yet?"

Sensing his Kikaichu, she decided to drop the conversation.

"Okay, I'll back off. Just remember what I said, okay?"

She picked up her giant fan and left with a leap, but added in "you know where to find me" before disappearing.

_'In my opinion, regarding relationships, it's better if the guy loves the girl more than the girl loves the guy.' _He was processing what she said. _'That way, the girl is loved, and the guy is closer to feeling like he deserves her. Just saying.'_ And it might have given him a little hope.

And Kami knows he needs it.

* * *

On his way to Kiba's house, he couldn't help but remember his dream from the night before.

_It was raining, pouring in fact._

_He was in a forest that encircled a lush meadow._

_In the meadow was a feminine figure._

_He stood there in the rain, watching._

_He watched her dance in the rain, soaked to the bone. _

_He watched her skip through the delicious green foliage around her. _

_He watched her and watched her and couldn't stop watching her. _

_He didn't know who she was or where she came from._

_But he didn't care. He just continued watching. _

_Because she was graceful and beautiful._

_Because she laughed a sweet laugh._

_Because she enjoyed the simplest of nature's treats._

_And appreciated it._

_But he couldn't tear his eyes away, most of all, because she seemed familiar._

_Familiar to someone very precious to him._

Then he woke up.

And that's all there was to it.

That is, until probably the next time he sleeps, for this dream has been reoccurring for a while now.

"Dude!" Kiba saw Shino approach his house and ran to the door before Shino could even knock. He tried to surprise Shino, but it never really works. In fact, he fails. "I got Sakura in on this and she's gonna make Hinata look so hot, that there's no way Naruto could say no to her!"

"…"

Shino loved Kiba like a brother (although he'd never admit it), but at that point, he was very close to slowly strangling his oblivious teammate.

"…And you are the same one who said to follow them in case he wanted to try anything? Well, I don't think that Hinata wearing something skimpy will help." (Although, Shino didn't exactly protest the thought of Hinata in something that showed off more of her curves, but nothing too inappropriate.)

"I know, but if we want this to work, we gotta get his attention on her."

_If we __**want**__ this to work…_Shino thought to himself.

"Besides, I've always wondered what she actually looked like under that jacket…"

"You mean her female anatomy?"

"Yeah, that."

(Awkward silence)

* * *

**So there you have it.**

**Review if worthy! It's appreciated! :)**


	4. Missed

**Hello, hello! A little bit of fluff coming your way just to whet your whistle a bit ;) but also a hint of sadness.**

**It's taken me a while to get this chapter to the way I wanted. I'm officially on Spring break, so here's another one for you :D**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 4: Missed**

"Even with our fists held high  
It never would have worked out right, yeah  
We were never meant for do or die."

-Kelly Clarkson

* * *

The sun had set and the fireflies and lanterns lit the darkness that cloaked the night. There was a quiet breeze that broke any silence that dared to creep upon the evening.

Naruto stood at the fountain in a dress shirt and dark jeans (He told Sakura he had a date and she made damn well sure that he was presentable.)

(And boy, did he work it.) He waited, kicking a pebble around until something red caught his eyes.

Hinata dressed differently. _Very_ differently.

No one had ever seen her arms or any leg above her ankles, let alone to an inch above her knees. She clutched the fabric, making sure it never rose above a comfortable length.

"Wow!" Naruto's wide eyes and high brows commented, making Hinata's face turn a deep red – almost the same color as her dress. "You're very pretty in that dress, Hinata."

She had to try very hard to hold back the urge to faint from the unexpected compliment, because it meant that Naruto was really looking at her (just a little more attention from him than he was used to). "T-Thank you. Y-you look n-nice, too, N-Naruto-ku-un." And the pressure was almost too much to bare.

They were on a date. How did this happen? Well it didn't matter much if at all because the date was happening. Right now. And Kiba and Shino they were watching them, from behind the bushes.

"Ok, so far, so good." Kiba whispered to a distracted Shino, who had his eyes intently on the two.

_Psh. _Shino thought to himself. _She is pretty __**regardless**__ of what she wears._

Naruto decided to start up a conversation noticing that neither of them were making eye contact. "So how was your day?"

"G-g-Good. A-and y-yours?"

"It was alright." He shrugged.

_So much for sustaining a conversation. Can't even finish what you started. _Shino muttered in his head.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. It was a first date for both of them.

"Damn, that's just awkward." Kiba huffed. He didn't care that Shino didn't respond because that was usual.

Shino watched her; her pixie short hair was spikeda little, and the gloss on her lips made them look plump and juicy. (Yes, juicy.) And he couldn't possibly fail to notice how well the dress hugged her voluptuous curves. (His kikaichu noticed that he noticed, too; especially the little alluring bit of cleavage showing on the near off-shoulder top portion of the dress.)

"Wait! They're leaving! Let's go!" Kiba nearly had to tear Shino's eyes off of Hinata. Shino was about to open his mouth to say something, but found his arm being pulled into the direction of the two love birds.

"Where are they going!?" Kiba complained.

"Well she has a picnic basket on her arm, doesn't she?" Shino pointed out bluntly.

"I know **that** much. But they're taking so damn long to pick a simple spot to eat. There was a perfectly good spot at the fountain back there!"

"The **public** fountain? On their **private** date?"

Instead of a comeback, Shino got a 'shush'. That was strange, because it was usually Shino who was the silent one asking his teammate to 'shush' to not give themselves away. He must be _very_ distracted.

When he composed himself, he looked to his dog-loving friend, who was heart-broken to have to leave Akamaru home, and wondered what joy he had out of spying on them. But he knows. _Of course he knows._

Inuzuka Kiba had a long list of things he wanted to do before he died. One of them was matchmaking.

_I swear…_the teenager with the dark rimmed glasses thought to himself that his friend had been spending too much time with one Ino Yamanaka with how much effort into watching them this closely after 'setting them up'. And in a way that is questionable in how it worked.

But his thoughts were interrupted as his eyes wondered back to the wooden picnic table in a secluded part of the park.

"Thank you." Hinata uttered under her breath sweetly after Naruto handed her a plate for the sushi.

_She made it herself._ Shino noticed. She always gave her sushi rolls a slight curl and twist to give them all a cuter appearance. Almost too cute to eat, but that never lasted long because her cooking was always superb.

"Damn, this is some good sushi!" Naruto had five pieces in his mouth and still managed to talk with his mouth full.

A blush crept up on her cheeks. She was hoping that wouldn't happen.

_But it always does._ Her bug-loving admirer knew it was something she tried to stop, but it couldn't be helped.

"So…how's your training going? Chunin now, right?"

"U-uh, yes. And training is going well. I could never be as strong as you, though."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't say that. I mean, you're a lot stronger than you were before. And you weren't exactly weak to begin with."

The color red took over Hinata's face again.

_Partly because I informed you that you should believe in her._ Shino remembered the mission they had to find the Bikochu Beetle.

When Hinata was captured, it was Shino who told Naruto to not underestimate her because Shino was the one who knew to believe in her, and respected her, as he watched her grow from all her hard work.

"_No pain, no gain." _He remembered her telling him every time he and Kiba asked if she was alright. _Even when she couldn't even get up on her own._

And when she showcased her version of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palm against the summoned Queen Bee, she proved him right.

"Dude, let's go! They're moving!" Kiba grabbed Shino by the arm and yanked him half way across Hokage Park.

They found the two at a fountain with a coy fish family swimming around. They began to make small talk as Shino began to glare intently.

"How did you manage to get your own place anyways?" Naruto asked.

"...Uhh...w-well..." She began to blush again, "Y-You see...I made a d-deal with my father...a-as long as I can p-prove that I c-can t-take care of myself, I he-he has allowed me to live o-on my own."

"Oh, that's a surprise seeing as how controlling your father is."

"Y-Yeah..." She smiled at his signature grin. And Shino and Kiba were listening to every single word. Shino and Kiba had also wondered how she was able to live on her own, but she never told them. She never even told them she moved out of her parents' house. They only found out when one day they walked her home and discovered her new home. Knowing that, they figured not to ask, which was strange since Kiba was usually always in his team mates' business. "It's nice to be by myself."

Naruto looked down to his reflection in the fountain and the face he made wasn't the most content. Seeing that, Hinata remembered that Naruto didn't have anyone to get away from. He only had himself and had always been on his own. Remembering that made her a little sad, too.

"I-I'm sorry...I know-"

"Don't be sorry. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." He grinned again.

That made her smile. Hearing him say that at least. As a statement that he cared for her.

_I'll give him credit for that._ Shino graded Naruto in his head. _But only that for now. _

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be on your own." Naruto ensured. "I know there's a difference between being raised and raising yourself, but I survived. It pretty much made me what I am today, and it's what will make the Hokage I will be one day. Besides, I am my own man, and no one tells me what to do...well you know, with the exception of Grandma Tsunade, but that's besides the point."

She giggled and replied with "Y-Yes. Yes you are. It's s-something to be v-very proud of. I-I know I a-am p-proud of y-you."

Naruto's eyes cleared a bit from what she'd said and his appreciation for her sincerity was carried by the gentleness of his smile. Sincerity was something many people lacked - especially towards demon carriers. He couldn't help but feel warmed by his new realizations.

While walking through the park, Naruto remembered what Sakura forcably taught him about being a gentleman and offered to carry her picnic basket for her.

_At least he can__** play**__ a semi-decent beginner's level gentleman._

The two continued their romantic walk through Hokage park with idle chitchat and the moderate level of flirting that their ninja-trained selves were capable of.

_He needs to find something else to talk about._

"And that's why I want to become Hokage someday!" He ended his little shpeel.

_Seriously._ Shino reinforced. _We know this by heart now_.

"And I-I'm sure you will be one day." Hinata encouraged.

A blush crept onto his wiskered face as he grinned and scratched his head out of habit.

_Psh._

Hinata turned her attention towards the sky as they star gazed, seated quite close next to each other on the wooden bench compared to usual.

_**Too**__ close._

Naruto watched Hinata watch the stars, but then remembered something he saw in a movie once: he let out a big yawn, stretched his arms, and somehow managed to smoothly place one arm around Hinata's shoulders.

_**MUCH **__too close..._Shino's eyebrows rose at the gesture.

"Woah." Kiba was just as surprised. "Who knew Uzumaki had a decent level of game."

Shino wasn't going to answer that, or any other question Kiba was going to ask him. He was too busy watching Naruto and Hinata and thinking how Naruto had better be careful with what part of Hinata he might touch next.

Hinata felt the arm behind her when she leaned back and turned her attention to the blonde boy next to her. They looked at each other a little awkwardly at first, but as his face started to drift closer to hers, the weather began to feel a little hotter. Shino felt a slight tinge in his chest watching them with every nerve fiber on edge.

But before there was any contact, Hinata realized what was about to happen and kind of, sort of, somewhat freaked out, resulting in her slipping off the edge of the bench onto the ground.

"Huh?" Naruto opened his eyes to find Hinata rubbed her backside with a rather dark shade of red on her face. "U-Uhh D-Did I lean in too much!? I'm so sorry!"

"N-No! I-It's fine! I just fell t-that's all." She explained as he helped her up. She couldn't really finish explaining because she was distracted with him still holding onto her hands. Naruto didn't even notice until Hinata looked down at their hands. As soon as he realized, he let go immediately and blushed. "Sorry." Both of their cheeks turned pink and they looked away from each other not knowing whether to feel awkward or not, which made it a bit awkward.

"I don't even know what to call this date." Kiba whispered. "It ain't good but it ain't bad, it just plain awkward for the most part."

_You better be sorry_. Shino eyeballed the blonde from behind the bushes. _...Wait...why is he taking his jacket off!? _He observed as Naruto gently placed it on Hinata's cold shoulders.

_Okay, good._ Shino breathed in relief. _Perhaps I should give Uzumaki a little more credit. He hasn't tried anything yet._ And Shino thought that up until Naruto took Hinata's hand to hold. _Okay, most certainly not._

"This is definitely lame, though. This has been dragging for an hour now." Kiba yawned and whined.

Hinata blushed furiously feeling his strong calloused hand almost smothering hers. It wasn't like holding a cuddly teddy bear, but she felt a little safer. That gave her the confidence to lean into him - but just a little bit.

That gave Shino a feeling he wasn't used to feeling because it was unlike those of the Aburame clan to covet anything of anyone else's. That should apply to Hinata being Naruto's date, but, he knew better.

"Dude let's move!" But Shino was already gone following them in the trees ever so swiftly. "Wait! Wha!?" He followed into step.

"Dude! What's up with you!?"

Silence was Shino's reply.

"What's your problem today? You've been way off." Kiba demanded, chipping off bark on every branch he plowed on in frustration.

He continued to answer in silence.

But then Kiba remembered how Shino watched them. He knew Shino well enough to know that he didn't observe in the way he usually did. His expression was different as well as his behavior. "Hm." The Inuzuku grinned. "Looks like someone's a little jealous."

Shino turned his head slightly. What are the chances that Kiba might guess right when he had barely any evidence if at all of how Shino might have felt about the situation?

"You are jealous! Dude! Why didn't you tell me! I would've totally set you up with her instead of that knucklehead!"

"I am not jealous."

"Pa-lease! It's written all over your face!"

"..."

"I knew it! You can't deny it!"

"Like I said, I am not jealous." Shino's eyebrow rose in irritation.

"Yeah, riiiiiiight. Okay, enough of this, I'll ruin their little date and get Naruto out of the way for you!" Kiba leaped towards the two unsuspecting lovebirds too distracted to use their Shinobi senses.

"No!" Shino tackled him to the ground.

"What's the matter with you, bug freak!?"

They started grappling and rolling on the ground hitting a few roots on the way and making a big cloud of dust.

"You will not intervene!"

"I'm just trying to help!"

"You are not helping anything!"

"I WILL IF YOU JUST LET ME!"

"I do not require help."

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOU NEED IT!"

"...um...guys?" Naruto interupted.

They froze in their tracks, looked up, and saw their stalkies staring at them with concerned expressions.

"OHAI GUYS!" Kiba tried to play it off. "Just practicing a little close combat!"

"...in the middle of Hokage park this late at night?"

"Of course!" They got up and dusted their clothes off. "You can never get too much practice. Isn't that right, Hinata?"

"..uh...r-right...but where's A-Akumaru?"

"Oh, I, uh, lert him rest. We've been hittin' it pretty hard lately."

"I g-guess that's always g-good..."

"In fact, I challenge you right now!" Kiba pointed at the blonde scratching the back of his confused head.

"Wait, now!?"

"Yes, now! A real ninja never backs down from a fight!"

"Well, I'm kinda in the middle of something..." He looked towards Hinata, who blushed furiously as always.

Kiba answered with three shuriken.

"What the-"

"Come on!"

Kiba chased Naruto up the trees, then winked at Shino, giving him a signal to make a move.

"..." _He needs to stop...that was both ridiculous and unnecessary..._

The two stood in silence, he didn't say a word, but it was the comfortable silence that they had always shared.

Here was a chance he could choose to take or let go. He processed every possible bit that he observed from the evening, everything that could result, and everything he had throught in the past few hours, he re-thought.

Hinata watched as he thought. Something was heavy on his mind, she could tell, but had no idea.

"Shino-kun…what is it?" She looked at the tall figure in front of her; watching him watch the moon glow from out of the clouds.

_"Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too."_

He refused to turn around, no matter how much he wanted to look her in the eyes and tell her something that's just been _burning_ in his throat for too long.

"It is nothing." But somehow, he always manages to somehow push his emotions aside for someone he cared for more than himself. _Much_ more than himself.

She knew that questioning whether Shino Aburame was sure about something or not was almost never necessary. But Hinata also knew Shino. She knew Shino well enough that if it takes him more than a minute to respond with just a mere "nothing", then there very much was _something_.

"Please do not concern yourself, Hinata. Go, and continue your evening with...Naruto."

He nearly choked the mentioning of her date.

"Shino-kun..."

"Go." She was a bit taken back by his harsher tone of voice. But it quickly returned to his normal, softer voice. "Have fun...he's waiting for you..." It was rather difficult for him to admit, but he had already accepted it.

"Are you sure?"

"You two were having a good time, were you not?"

"...well...yes..."

"Then you should continue."

"It feels weird...feeling like you don't approve of me dating Naruto..."

"You do not need my approval for anything." He cared for her, and was protective of her, but he also respected her very much.

"...I feel like...there's something you want to say, but won't..."

"There is nothing for me to say."

"...But...I'm sorry...I just...I have a feeling that sometimes...nevermind...I'm just being stupid...to think...nevermind, I'll stop now."

Impulsively, he turned around to face her, then walked towards her. Giving a foot between them, he looked her dead in the eyes, opened his mouth and...stopped himself.

She looked up at him, wondering what he was about to do. This is so unlike him, she knew very much. She looked down trying to figure out what was going on through his head. _Why was he acting this way? Did something happen? Did I do something? Is it – wait…huh?_ She didn't need to look up to feel that Shino was hugging her very tightly. His strong long arms embraced her protectively and gently. Of course he had to lean down a little since she was so much shorter, but he didn't mind at all seeing how he placed his exposed cheek on her head.

Impulsive. That was a word that no one would ever choose to describe Aburame Shino. But yet again there is a first time for everything.

This small display of affection was something Hinata had never expected. Especially not from one of the most stoic people she had grown up with - her team that she trained with almost every day and knew very well.

He had more information to process, but this time it was the feeling of him hugging her for the first time. How small and warm felt against his body; how strong her scent was being this close to her; how smooth and silky her hair was; and how relaxed and comfortable she was being this close to him. He loved this feeling and she didn't stop him or move away. And he appreciated that more than she would ever know.

But all good things have to come to an end. He had to let go of her sooner or later. And it was as much later as it was going to get.

"Go. Naruto is waiting for you." He composed himself like nothing had happened. Even though something happened that he would probably never forget.

She didn't know what was going on. But she couldn't question anything because Shino was already gone.

He lept from tree to tree until he was home and rethought what had just happened. He regretted nothing but letting go. He was able to break his usual hesitation, but only for a moment. But yet again, that little moment made it all worth while - being able to hold her like he had wanted to for the longest time.

He wanted to say what could potentially set the course for something he had always wanted. He wanted to pave the path he had hoped to carve for years, but, of course, he knew better; that he was too inexperienced in matters of heart to accurately predict anything. There were too many varying factors for his comfort. That and he wanted her to have what she'd always wanted: Naruto.

She had him now, he could see it, and he cared too much to ruin anything for her.

Even though he knew what could possibly result.

But what's done is done, and for now, he regretted nothing.

And that was more than enough for him - _her happniess_.

* * *

"Everything alright, son?" Shibi questioned the clan heir's state of mind as he walked through the front door and missed the stairs and just barely missed bumping into the wall.

"Yes." He fixed his glasses.

The father figure sat on the couch reading his new encyclopedia on fanged insects. "Everything?"

"Yes. Everything that matters is as it should be."

He didn't question his son's logic, as it was similar to his own. He just merely let him be, knowing it was best to allow him to sift through his thoughts on his own.

Shibi only wished his son's mental state didn't concern him to the point where he had to ask him if everything was alright when it was clear that something wasn't. But he wanted to wait a little longer before prying into what that something was.

Shino changed into his black mesh shirt and black sweat pants upon removing his shoes and practically fell onto his bed.

"_Everything that matters is as it should be."_

_It wasn't a lie. _He said to himself. _Hinata is happy. That is all that matters._

After tossing and turning for half an hour, he was finally able to fall asleep, but that 'uncomfortable' dream of him and that certain significant other made his slumber rather restless. Through the night his head would occassionally whip back and forth. Only when Aito unconsiously kicked a loose sock upward and into his face did Shino wake up.

"Ugh!" He growled. The clock read five minutes to three. _Just one month. I almost died multiple times while on duty. I can do this._ Aito let out a loud grunt of a snore after Shino tried to motivate himself.

But he couldn't really blame his cousin for him not being able to sleep. It was an uneasy sleep due to his night-time visions

_There is no use in dreaming of such things. _He told himself. _Especially now that I have no chance. I've missed them all._

Then he realized something from earlier in the morning, when he fell off his bed in his sleep.

The last time he fell off his bed while in his sleep, he lost someone very precious to him.

And it seems now that he's lost Hinata.

To Naruto.

* * *

**Hope that didn't make you tear up too badly now. Until next time!**

**I want to thank those who've stayed with me 'till now cause you know I'm not the best with keeping this up to date, but just letting you know I appreciate it ;) !**

**Feedback would be nice since I'm not sure what to do for the storyline after this chapter for the moment.**

**Review if worthy! :D**


	5. Offer

**Hello! Hello! Thank you everyone for your words of encouragement! You know who you are ;)**

**Anyhoo, another chapter up. Hope you like this one. Took me a while to decide what will happen after what happened at Hokage Park, but here it is!**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 5: Offer**

_"I won't let you,_  
_Let you give up on this miracle,_  
_Cause it might save you."_

-Paramore

* * *

_Miss. Miss. Miss. Hit. Miss. Miss. Fatal. Miss. Fatal. Fatal. Miss. Hit. Miss. Miss. Hit. Hit. Hit. Hit. Fatal. Hit._

Shino observed and graded their performances in close combat. It was Hinata against Naruto's shadow clones. Of course, it took Hinata a little while to be able to actually hit Naruto willingly. Same for Naruto and Hinata's clones.

'_Hinata!'_ Shino replayed in his head when he saw Naruto calling her from down the road just between her apartment and the village market as well as **his own thoughts.**

"_Oh, N-Naruto-kun?"__** She is surprised but happy at the same time.**_

"_Wanna train with me?" __**He is very interested in her.**_

"_S-Sure." She said meekly. __**Surprised in an excited way…that makes her…nervous.**_

"_Let's go by the river." He took her hand gently and began to lead her towards a different road. __**He's leading her places now. **__"I want to practice some water jutsu. If that's okay with you that is!" He realized __**He's becoming more…considerate, I suppose…**__"I don't want to force you into anything…" __**he better not.**_

"_N-No that's fine." She smiled her sweet smile and he grinned his signature grin.__** Predictable.**_

**All the clones have disappeared and their session has ended**. He never failed to multitask with thinking and observing.

"That was a good workout." Naruto panted.

Hinata nodded her head in agreement and followed him onto shore to take a break with some water.

"Here." Naruto handed her a bottle of juice. "I brought one for you."

"Oh…" _he thought of me? _"T-Thank you."

_I'll give him that much._ Shino critiqued. _At the very least he's decently thoughtful. _

The Aburame continued to watch the two intently, very aware of every bit of interaction, or lack thereof as the two were just sitting on the grass facing the river and relaxing after their intense non-stop two-hour training session.

"Hey, Hinata?" Naruto tried to break the silence, but at the same time wasn't sure what to say.

She looked at him with her head tilted.

"I was wondering…" He began to blush, "if… you'd like to… go out again sometime…with me?"

She looked at him in disbelief, but wasn't in enough disbelief to answer with a shy "Yes."

"Alright!…I mean, cool." He tried to play it off, but that only made her giggle.

Awkwardness seemed to slowly drift away with the wind the more time they spent together. Just the other day they saw each other in the café and Hinata felt less nervous than she usually did even though Naruto paid more attention to her than he usually did.

It was like the awkwardness was being replaced by a faint feeling of 'more-than-friends'. That, Shino could tell, but didn't want to know.

The two then continued talking and flirting a bit with the occasional clasping of hands.

He would do something silly and she would giggle.

She would blush when he moved a little closer to her.

They shared stories of their most embarrassing moments and funny stories from their training sessions with their teams.

Every phrase lingering, every gesture made, every fit of laughter, every moment of interaction between them, Shino saw; as much as he regretting seeing. For in seeing, he learned and in learning, he knew. And as always, he regretted knowing.

He regretted seeing him move right next to her and especially regretted seeing him put his arm around her waist. He regretted seeing her lean in closer to him and resting her head on him.

He felt a feeling he wasn't used to feeling, for it was a feeling that was forbidden in the Aburame clan, but he felt it nonetheless. And he continued to feel it as he watched them.

* * *

Not unknown to Shino was a certain person hiding in the trees. Of course she was watching him watch them. She couldn't seem to mind her own business because she was too bored without Shikamaru and was too interested in the situation she found rare.

She didn't do anything rash, though. She was much smarter than that.

She waited until the Hyuuga and the demon carrier left before pestering Shino again.

"I don't know why you insist on trying to meddle." He didn't have to turn around. He knew she was there. He was always aware of his surroundings, but in his opinion, she was getting a little ridiculous.

"Well, for a couple of reasons." She made herself comfortable on the tree next to him. "One: I'm bored. Two: Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too. Three: Like I said before, it's better for the guy to love the girl more than the girl loves the guy, cause then she feels loved and he feels like he deserves her and it irritates me that you don't seem to get that. Four: With that said, I think you'd be better for that Hyuuga girl than that moron."

"First of all, her name is Hinata. Second, it doesn't matter what you think because it's clear she has made her choice."

"Hold on there, what choice?" She gave him a look. "She doesn't even know you're an option yet."

"…Yet?"

She let out a deep breath that hinted disappointment.

"Okay, tell me, why do you feel about her the way you do?"

"…" The look he gave made it clear he wasn't going to talk about his feelings. (Which he doesn't have as a Shinobi, of course.)

"Oh, right." She had to redirect, and opened up her second argument by flat out asking, "would you die for her?"

That caught the insect whisperer off guard, but it was obvious what the answer was.

"What do you think?" Monotone.

"I think you would. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

_Oh my gosh! I finally got a straight up answer from him! Temari, you are getting' good!_ She thought to herself with a smile on her face.

"Alright, then you're being illogical."

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"You'd die for her, but you aren't willing to fight for her? Not in a battle sense, but in the sense that you're not willing to work to get the girl you'd die for? That makes no sense to me."

"Because you don't understand and know nothing about the situation."

"I know enough and you just admitted that you consider this a situation."

"I find that hard to believe and the only situation I'm concerned about is Hinata's well being as she's currently dating that idiot she's in love with." That last part was hard for him to choke out, but he was too heated to keep in.

_Temari, you got a lot of work ahead of you_. _Damn you Shikamaru for making me wait an extra couple days to get your lazy ass here._

The wind blew. It didn't break the silence, but it put some ease on the tension.

"You would die for her." She restated. "But you're not willing to do anything to get her. What's wrong with you?"

"…"

"Okay, scratch that, what's holding you back?"

"…"

"Alright," she sighed, "I don't care if you feel like you don't deserve her or whatever. If that's the case, you can always work at a relationship to make yourself feel deserving. Even Shikamaru works his lazy ass to keep me happy. I love him, but if he can do it, you can do it." _I'm hoping I'm right..._

Silence.

"If you feel like you can't compete with Uzumaki, then work harder. Yeah she may want him now, but how long do you think that can last? She may not even be a hundred percent sure of what she wants, especially since she doesn't know you're an option. Maybe she feels the same way about you, and she's afraid to tell you. Be a freakin' man and take freakin' initiative."

At that, Shino's kikaichu felt his rise in body temperature from both annoyance and from offense.

She jumped up, but she didn't want to fight. After what happened during the Chunnin exams a couple years ago, she didn't want to start any more tension between Suna and Konoha.

"Seriously. You should at least try."

"Who are you to tell me anything?"

"Who are you to think you don't deserve what you want?"

"I have what I want. She's happy and that's all I want."

"That's not _all_ you want and you know it."

"I know more about myself than you do."

"And I know more about what you don't know about yourself than you do."

"This conversation is a waste of my time."

"Admit it. You're afraid."

"The Aburame don't fear."

"You're afraid she'll reject you."

"How she feels towards me is unimportant."

"Oh, that's a bold face lie. You care a lot about how she feels."

"What's important is that she has what she wants and she's happy. She's been in love with him for years. I'm not going to ruin that for her. And neither are you." He said with an almost threatening tone of voice. He was very serious. he cared too much about her to let this girl from the sand village to interfere with her life.

"You love her more than he does."

"That's not always enough."

"Make it enough."

"I would if I could."

"That's where you're wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"You want her to be happy. You know love will make her happy. How is she supposed to be as happy as possible if she can't feel as much love as possible? Especially when you love her enough to give up your happiness for her sake?"

Aburame Shino knew he couldn't fight the truth in those words. He _knew_ how true the truth was_._ But he still had to try.

"I know myself well enough to know my abilities. Making a person feel loved is not one of them."

"I can teach you."

"…"

"I'm serious. I had to teach Shikamaru. Granted he lied and asked me to help him get another girl when he was trying to get me the whole time, but that's beside the point."

"I am not interested."

"Okay, whatever," She was beginning to get annoyed with this stubborn boy, "my offer still stands." _He needs help. He'll see me again for sure._

As he answered with silence, she was out of sight.

'_It doesn't make sense that you're not willing to work to get the girl you'd die for.'_ He didn't want to give her a real answer. He was _more than willing _to work to get her. It was just that _her happiness is more important. And she already has another. She has the boy she'd been pining over for years. _And he wasn't going to ruin that for her.

Even if it meant ruining things for himself. _Besides,_ He painfully reminded himself to keep himself in check, _I've missed all my chances._

He thought again about Temari and what she had to say and thought again about what he told her. He realized then that he had already shared more than he had ever wanted to share with anyone; too much, even. _She is irritating._ But he knew, _that's not the last of her._

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter! Not much action, but you know Shino, always thinking.**

**Next chapter coming soon. I'm in dire need of some inspiration right now, so I'll be offline for a little bit.**

**See you guys next time and review if worthy please! :)**


	6. Too Much

**Hello! Hello! Sorry for the long long long, very long update. Kind of forgot I had an account here to be honest… real world is catching up to me! Ah! Scary!**

**Thank you all for your totally AWESOME reviews! I really appreciate the input, and the praise brings a fuzzy feeling to my little heart :). And it helps me decide how the story goes ;)**

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy and review if worthy please! :D**

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

**Chapter 6: Too Much**

"_I need this right now to figure myself out  
Cutting through the ribbons of self doubt  
I never thought you'd see me this way."_

-Hawthorne Heights

A week had passed since Naruto and Hinata had their second date at Naruto's favorite ramen shop. They enjoyed each other's company with good food and grew closer as an almost-couple. Of course Shino watched for his own reasons, and Kiba watched because he was nosy; protective, but also nosy.

They held hands as Naruto walked Hinata home and they almost kissed again, but Hinata freaked out again. Naruto understood how shy she was by nature (and as a consequence of how she was 'nurtured') and that only made Hinata like him more.

Two days afterward, they became official (after Naruto took about 20 minutes trying to ask her our), and as it would happen in a small village, rumors spread, even if their relationship was kept on the down low.

"Did you hear?" a gossiper asked her purple-haired friend.

"About that girl from the Hyuuga clan and Uzumaki boy?"

"Yes! I hear they started dating over a bowl of ramen and some sushi."

"Really? I heard it was over a mission where they had to save each other and then consequently fell for each other."

"My sister heard that they met from a blind date."

"A blind date? But they knew each other, didn't they? Aren't they both part of the Konoha 12 or Rookie 9 or whatever they were called?"

"Are you sure it wasn't over food? Food always brings people closer together."

Shino overheard their conversation, sitting at the table next to them in the café, and it put him at unease. But he wasn't going to correct them on anything. Unless they were spreading rumors that reflected negatively on Hinata's reputation, that is. But for now they were chit-chatting about the possible ways they could have met. It was not a fun twenty minutes for him (although, it's not like he wasn't also curious for what was being said even if he didn't thoroughly enjoy the subject). Afterall, a good Shinobi knows how to gather information when they know it might prove worthy later. Yes, that's it, he was really listening because he was practicing his recon skills. Right.

When came the subject of little Hyuuga babies with blonde hair, he decided to leave. He did not want any of that in his head. At all. It would just put him deeper into his rather uncontent mood.

It was already bad enough that his cousin was giving him extra spikes in his blood pressure. He did not need to think about the fact that he was not in Naruto's place at the moment.

Today was their two-week 'anniversary', Shino observed. They would be doing something special tonight. The Aburame had watched them for that time being, and was felt neutral about the Uzumaki boy.

Day one, Naruto started the routine of walking her home every night; holding hands of course.

Day five, they hugged. But not one of those 'we're just friends' hugs. It was one of those 'I never want to let go' hugs. You know, the ones that made Shino feel a little ache in his chest again watching the blonde sway her a little, rocking her off of balance, deeper into the embrace.

Day ten, he invited her for a movie at his apartment and he had his arm around her while she cuddled up to him and he placed a kiss on her forehead. She fainted of course, but he just thought she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

Today was day fourteen. And Naruto was cooking dinner at his apartment for the two of them.

Of course if Shino couldn't be there, it didn't mean one, two, maybe three of his little beetles couldn't go in his place. To maintain Kurenai's expectations that they would practice their tracking skills on a daily basis was...what he told himself. That's really what he's doing, right? It's all strictly practice. A total shinobi thing to do.

_Hinata arrived at seven on the dot at Naruto's door and gave it a quick yet graceful knock. He was in the kitchen, trying to hide the take-out boxes._

"_Coming!" He stashed the evidence of his cooking inabilities in the closet because his trash can was already full from previous attempts at using his own hands to cook, but ended up using his strong articulate ninja fingers to dial the phone._

"_Hey there!" He eagerly swung the door open, letting in a wind of fresh out that flushed out the smell of burnt bread. "Sorry about that, I heated the garlic bread a little too long."_

_She gave approval with one of her sweet smiles, making him feel relieved._

_He served her foreign Italian food that Ino told him about from one of her chain of acquaintances. The blonde was an overbearing balbber mouth, but he knew her stuff._

_Everything was very cute. A little light flirting (mostly Naruto since Hinata was still a little shy around him), some slight hand-to-hand touching, and a lot of blushing. and I mean A LOT of blushing. At certain times, Naruto was afraid she might have been suffering from heat stroke because he followed Rock Lee's advice of turning the dial on the thermostat up to 'prepare the mood of the romantic environment'. But since she hadn't fainted yet, he supposed the temperature wasn't too high, but ended up having to lower it anyways because he was starting to sweat through his shirt. Undoing the top button of his dress shirt and rolling up his sleeve, he began to pat his face to find the moisture had accumulated quite alot. Despite the minor setback in keeping his 'cool', he continued to converse, and of course, flirt with his...girlfriend. (He had trouble himself at times believing that he and Hinata were finally together. Yes he was oblivious to the fact that she was pining for him for the good part of half of her life, but still, who knew it would finally happen? He guessed he had Kiba to thank for his...utterly mysterious ways.)_

"_No seriously, that's what happened when we escorted that rich guy back to his town. He thought some very short high level ninja were after him, but they were actually just a bunch of very skilled kids. Same age as us when we were genine, only we were actual ninja."_

"_Hmhmhmhmhm." Her light girly giggle made Naruto turn reddish in the cheeks (he was sure it was not just the heat in his house this time). He leaned backwards in his chair, basking in a little glory, but that glory was short lived because he ended up falling backwards in the motion and knocking down the tray of extra pasta from the counter onto him and his freshly ironed dress shirt._

"_Oh, uh, Naruto-kun are you okay?"_

"_Yeah," He tried to laugh it off, "I'm fine." He rushed to clean up the mess but then collided heads with Hinata as she knelt down with a paper towel to help him._

"_Ow…" She huffed under her breath._

"_I'm sorry-"_

"_No, it's fine." She smiled._

_They both felt the heat rush to their faces as they rubbed their heads. The slight brushing of their elbows together caused an ever so slightly intimate moment of silence with Naruto's eyes intensely staring into Hinata's at the feather-light ounce of physical contact. She quickly let her hand down and placed it on the floor to support herself as she looked down in a blush and shyly shifted an inch away from her date._

_But he wasn't just her date, he was her boyfriend, and with that justification, Naruto placed his hand on hers, interlacing their fingers, and before Hinata even had the chance to freak out, leaned in and kissed her on the lips gently. Her body stiffened, but then quickly melted when he didn't stop kissing her. Soft, silky, warmth, and ...delicious. How was she to say no to the sensation her lips never knew? Her words left her long ago at the exchange of innocent affection._

_A long breathless minute passed by before Naruto let go of her lips for them both to get some air and to see Hinata's reaction. But when he opened her eyes, she had already fainted into his lap._

_He began to panic and quickly picked her up, scanning his apartment for a place to put her down comfortable. Of course the couch was full of stuff he was in the process of cleaning until Hinata arrived, so he had to settle for placing her on his bed._

_With the wave of panic still freshly prickling under every hair on his skin, he grabbed the closest thing he could find to use as a fan and began creating a little wind of air for her. A half hour had passed and she twitched in her semi-coma a couple times, so he figured she was alright._

"_Oh man." He sighed in relief. "She's okay." (Although she was more than alright as seen in the smile that just totally took over her face as she slept)._

And the current frustration in Shino could be seen in is twitching eyebrow as his beetle reported this scene to him. Oh how he wanted to thank his little bug so very much for such a vivid description of the event.

_He opened the window in his bedroom to allow more fresh air in. He re-examined himself in the mirror – he was still a mess from that pasta and sauce. "Might as well take a quick shower while she's asleep."_

_Naruto began removing his clothes and tossed his shirt into the laundry basket next to his closet. Glancing back to make sure Hinata was still out cold, he was reassured enough to remove his pants and tossed those in along with the shirt._

"What the…" He interupted his kikaichu. The beetle looked at him with a 'can I just continue?' buzz. "Whatever. Go on."

_He then hopped into the shower and steam started streaming into his bedroom where Hinata still lay sleeping on his bed. It caused her to stir, but not awaken._

_After Naruto looked at himself in the mirror long enough to ensure that all the tomato sauce was out of his hair, he went to grab a fresh set of clothes until he realized that his clothes were still inside his dresser, he never took them out._

_Of course, he set himself in another awkward situation with his buffoonery. "She's probably still asleep right?" He asked himself peaking his head out the door, and luckily, she was, and he was not about to give her such a rude awakening. He would have to make this quick._

_But, as fate would have it, as he was in the process of dashing into his own bedroom, he forgot about one of his parcels of weapons he left on the floor and stepped on it, setting off one of his small explosives, knocking his towel off, and waking Hinata up._

"I don't want to know what happened afterwards." Shino told the little reporting kikaichu on his fingertip, but the tiny beetle knew Shino well and gave him a look (one of those 'oh really?' looks a beetle would give his bug-wielding master) and a low buzzing noise. "Okay. Fine. Tell me."

_Hinata woke with a start, attention directed towards the puff of smoke at the door. "H-H-Hello?" She inquired._

_"Oh, haha, oopsies!" A blonde girl with pigtails in a puff of smoke appeared from the other puff of smoke, "I'm Naruto's very very very distant cousin three times removed! I'm just getting some clothes for him because the idiot forgot them before stepping into the shower!" 'She' quickly ran over to the dresser, grabbed a few articles and ran off with a "Nice to meet you! Sorry I can't stay to chat I must be off now!"_

"That... was just plain stupid." Shino commented.

The beetle didn't argue.

_"Hey, sorry about that, I just figured I would wash the sauce our of my hair while you...erm...slept."_

_"O-Oh, it's fine." She leaped off the bed when she realized it wasn't hers, but in her boyfriends. Not appropriate behavior for an Hyuuga, let alone the heir. "Your cousin seemed nice."_

_"My cous - oh! Right! My cousin, yeah, she had to go. Home. To...uh...fix her...hair...yeah! Cause that's what girls do! They fix their hair...alot" He was too embarassed at this point of his own bafoonery to tell the truth to this utterly ridiculous and completely uneccessary lie._

"Not as comfortable around your girlfriend as you would like to think are you?" Shino commented again.

_In an attempt to put an end to this deviously awkward situation, he offered to get deert started: gelato. She was thrilled, she'd never tried that Italian desert she's heard Ino talk about for weeks from her return from a mission to a Rich Italian landlord who moved to the Fire Country. He fed them endless amounts of the delicousy every day. Or so she told them. Every day when she got back. Over. And over. And over._

_"...AND OVER!" Naruto uttered to himself on how Ino used 'one of her many personal connections' to attain this for them for their date. Yes. The poor knuckleheaded ninja listened to Ino for hours as she hooked him up for something special for his girlfriend. It was a grave sacrifice on his behalf._

"Psh." Shino couldn't help but roll is eyes. "It's not that hard to too Yamanaka out." But he had to admit, "He did put in a sufficient amount of effort I suppose."

The beetle couldn't help but roll his four eyes at his master. He always wondered if his master would ever get laid. He still wonders. Especially if he treats his kikaichu to such long and extenous work hours of spying. The date ended with a move and Naruto walking Hinata home, the long way, through Hokage Park. It was long night for the poor little beetle.

"Okay, I get it. You can have tomorrow off."

The little bug buzzed triumphantly and crawled back into his comfortable nest in his master's arm, who let out a sigh and asked himself where he could get good beetles these days. Yes, this whole experience was a drag alright, just annoying as it was boring for him. But then why did he care so much to spy on them all the time? (And he means all. the. time.) The answer was simple, but other than the obvious, he wasn't sure. He was subjecting himself to this ridiculous routine of watching them live their lives without him. He was sick of it. He was tired. He was done. With all of it.

"What's wrong with you, son?" Shibi always noticed when his son was off, even when it wasn't completely and utterly obvious.

"Nothing, father." His reply was almost automatic.

"Son, whatever you're going through, I have a fatherly sense that it involves a female. I had the same look on my face when I was in the preliminary process of courting your mother."

"Chasing helplessly is not the same as courting."

"Women who are truly worth the challenge prove to be more than worthy in the end."

"…What?"

"Think about it, son. Sleep on it."

Sleep. Right. The thing he used to enjoy until his cousin moved into his room. He can stay up a little longer…or however longer it takes for his cousin to fall asleep.

The next day was all, but wonderful. His snooping brought Shino more than he bargained for, that is for sure.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Kiba asked, rubbing his belly. "I'm starving!"

After settling into a place that served 101 ways to cook chicken, Kiba proceeded to pass out on the floor right next to the table. Giggling, Hinata excused herself to the ladies room.

"Kiba." Shino poured a glass of cold water on him. "Can you have some class, please?"

"Dude, I don't know what's in that food, but it was soooooooooooo gooooood!"

Shaking his head, Shino turned and noticed Hinata had left her purse open. Peering inside, he was something he surely did not want to see.

"Ready to go?" Kiba asked as Hinata returned.

She nodded her head and picked up her purse from Shino's worried gaze.

Kiba was the first to leave for his training session with the family. It was more so for bonding, but family bonding usually involved some kind of training or rough housing.

"I have been waiting for this for a while!" He and Akumaru were beyond excited. "Can't wait to show my sister who's the alpha ninja in the family!"

Hinata giggled at Kiba's enthusiasm.

"I'll see you guys at training tomorrow!" He all but darted into the training grounds.

"Don't get too hurt now! We're doing drills tomorrow!" Hinata reminded her furry friend.

"He will be fine." Shino reassured her. "He can take care of himself."

She nodded in agreement.

They walked for a bit before reaching Hinata's house.

"Hinata." Shino started.

She turned attentively.

"Is there anything you would…" he hesitated. "Nevermind."

"Shino-kun?"

"It's nothing."

But it was indeed something. He would never admit it, but it was something eating him from the inside and not in the friendly beetle kind of way.

"Shino-kun…what's wrong?" Hinata asked gingerly.

"Pay no attention to what I said earlier."

"Shino…if something is wrong, you know you can tell me."

He stopped for a moment. He needed to catch his breath before unleashing a can of worms. He could not hold it in for another minute yet alone the rest of the walk home.

"…I just…" He gathered his words carefully, "…did not expect you to go this far with Uzumaki in this stage of your relationship with him. Even if you are in love with him."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw the birth control pills in your bag."

"You went through my bag?"

"…"

"What has gotten into you?"

"…"

"First of all, I never expected you to invade my privacy and look through my things like that. Second, those pills are not mine. They are Ten-Ten's. I was holding them for her. Third, I cannot believe you think that I would…you should know better than to think that in only a week and a half into a relationship I would…do that…with anyone. Fourth and foremost, what I do with my boyfriend is my business and none of yours! Kiba is nosy but leaves us alone! My father doesn't know and I don't want him to get involved. I don't need someone acting like my father and trying to judge me or tell me everything I am doing wrong!"

Hinata stormed off (if Hinata could storm, but by normal people standards, it was more of a brisk walk). Shino did not follow. He stood back trying to process what just happened.

The wrinkle on her nose, the crease on her forehead. She was honestly angry with him. She was very frustrated to say the least.

But in all honesty, Shino did not understand why she got _that _upset.

He missed something.

This was all becoming too much.

THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE!

**Oh shnap! What will Shino do (or not do) now! Next chapter up eventually, review if worthy, please! :)**


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